Lost Hatred
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Naruto is given the dream job. He gets to take care of a large fancy house on the lake for his entire winter break with no one else but his boyfriend... and a vengeful ghost or two. SasuNaru, horror, AU
1. Chapter 1

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses 

--Teaser-  
A nightmare starts like this.

There is darkness surrounding a place. A large place; always a large place full of rooms and nooks and crannies and corners and closets and endless doors that can lead to any number of places and rooms. The large place always has a yard, a yard full of crawling and slithering plants that haven't been touched and probably will never be touched from their own sheer force of will. Plants do have a will of their own, especially these kind, everyone knows that.

The lights are always out in the house, bathing even the darkness in a darker non-light. And yet, there is always a room lit, from something else standing there, looking out across the windy and foreboding darkness. And that shape doesn't need the light around him. That shape only needs the energy around it.

It never looks human. It might have been once… but it's not anymore. It's not even close anymore, a formless shape bent on listening and watching over the territory it has appointed as its own. It doesn't care about the light or the darkness. It just cares that this place is his. It belongs to no one else.

Tresspassers aren't welcome.

Tresspassers aren't wanted.

Just like it was never wanted. It was always an unwanted presence here… so it finally decided, after all this time, that the least it could do was claim the territory… and return the favor.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru (yes, there really is SasuNaru this time)  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses

Chapter 1

A dream job starts like this, Naruto was sure of it. Naruto stood in the doorway to one of those types of houses that most kids could only dream of having. A house that had all the normal rooms scattered about, but was also rich enough to have rooms like an annex, a parlor, a work out room and a spa. Doors upon doors, three stories tall with an attic and a basement and winding staircases with stained glass Victorian windows, making this entire place look more like an early American castle then anything that you would see on a normal street block. The lake and indoor hot tub only seemed par for the course and Naruto was actually surprised there wasn't a golf course hiding in the garage.

All of this was all Naruto's for the next month. He got to stay in the house, live in the rooms and explore to his heart's content. And even better? He was getting paid for it. Paid to live in a house, pick up mail and keep it clean. What job could be better then that?

"Whoa."

Naruto glanced back at the boy standing behind him, barely resisting the smile. Oh yeah, that was the other thing that made this job even more perfect, Sasuke.

The boy standing behind him with the jagged dark hair and equally disinterested dark eyes had been his steady boyfriend for nearly a year now. They'd met in the college equivalent of detention at the counseling center where Naruto's part time job had him sweeping floors and Sasuke was his normal disinterested self listening to some professor preach to him about how he was ruining his life by failing his classes because he had so much potential. A year later Sasuke was still barely passing his classes and Naruto had been promoted to rearranging books in the library… and their make-out sessions had moved from broom closets to abandoned sound proof study rooms.

"This kicks ass!" Naruto grinned as his voice echoed around the main room of the house. It had an entry way. An actual entry way with a large staircase that curled up on one side to meet the second floor and he already loved how his voice echoed. Lifting up his stuffed to the seams backpack he walked in and followed the directions he'd been given to get to the main guest bedroom, the grin never leaving.

"I think they used this place in the filming for Resident Evil," Sasuke muttered as he followed with his lazy rolling suitcase. He was lazy and he hated school, but Sasuke was picky, anal Naruto would say, about many other things which was probably why inside his bag all his clothes were neatly folded and rolled, wrinkle and trouble free. He left his shoes at the door and followed down the hallway, glancing at the pictures that filled the walls and the polished wooden doors that remained closed all around. Finally the two of them reached the guest bedroom.

If it could be called that.

Guests were apparently important in this house, because the room held a large queen sized bed, covered with thick blankets and a hodge podge of pillows that all barely matched. Lighthouses lined the walls and a couple pieces of hand picked driftwood decorated the top of the dresser, while a mobile of seagull looking birds in glass hung near the window, reflecting rainbows on the walls. Someone liked light houses and the sea, probably the same person who used the dock out in the back yard.

"Nice room," Sasuke's voice was dry, a pitch below his normal boredom.

Naruto just shrugged. "We have the entire house to ourselves for a month. Who cares what the room looks like. I want to see the rest of the house!"

"Hope they drew you a map."

(break)

An hour or two of exploring later and Naruto knew the general layout of the house like the back of his hand. He'd discovered somewhere around seven bedrooms and two separate staircases on either side of the house, making three total that were easily accessible. An art studio took up most of the top floor with a little porch that had become a greenhouse, and the exercise room was filled with more then equipment then the local community center. Sasuke had gotten bored about ten minutes in and had retreated to the kitchen to explore a safer area – the wine cellar.

After his explorations, Naruto joined him in the kitchen and frowned a bit at the bottle of wine sitting on the counter, unopened. "Put it back Sasuke, they'd notice."

"Killjoy." Sasuke lifted the bottle and slipped it back into its place, closing the door. "So, find any zombies?"

"Naw, I found something better. They have a home theater system… with hookups on the front of the projector system."

A smirk crossed Sasuke's lips and he nodded. "I'll grab the games."

A hour later and the two were settled down on the floor, in front of the large leather couches in a dark room that easily put the guest bedroom to shame for space. They'd managed to hook up the game system Naruto had brought with and to their delight the surround sound didn't need any adjusting. Add a call to the local pizza delivery service and soon the two found themselves in a pitch black room playing the latest fight game on a nearly life size screen.

And Sasuke was getting his ass kicked.

Sasuke frowned at the screen and resisted the urge to move with his controller in some vain attempt to make his character move that much faster. In the dim light he could see the grin on Naruto's face and he wasn't about to have him win! Naruto always won these games, just like Sasuke was always the best at the shooting and hunting games where zombies and psycho villagers were his favorite target.

This time would be different, he was sure of it. He'd win... or rather, he'd make Naruto lose.

Sasuke set his plan into motion after his character got his ass royally handed to him on a silver platter. Making a show of it he grumbled and sighed and leaned back against the edge of the couch, just a little behind Naruto and out of his sight range. Then he set the focused on the game and kept play, while leaning forward and breathing softly against Naruto's neck. As predicted, he was able to land a shot as Naruto shivered and momentarily lost focus.

"Cheat." Naruto muttered, moving a little farther forward.

"You own this game, you have an unfair advantage."

"Not my fault if I like to buy my games, rather then beat them in a single rental period," he retorted back, landing a nearly fatal hit on Sasuke's character. Sasuke growled lowly and proceeded to try and hit him back...

He was delightfully surprised to find that his growling had an effect on Naruto and he was actually able to knock him out of the ring. Sasuke couldn't help but grin as he heard Naruto's girl's scream echo across the screen with the now suddenly satisfactory words of 'Final Death'.

"I hate you," Naruto muttered, reaching for the start button to start again. But Sasuke decided he wouldn't have any of that. Instead he caught Naruto's wrist and used it to turn him around quickly enough that Naruto stumbled into Sasuke's lap, and Sasuke now had him exactly where he wanted him.

"Sasuke! What are you doing? It's best two out of three..."

"Not tonight." He didn't give Naruto time to protest, instead he leaned in and immediately began teasing his tongue against Naruto's neck, causing the blond boy to moan softly and forget completely about the game. Behind them the TV screen flashed and began to play one intro movie or another with low voices in Japanese threatening painful death by sword and sushi.

Neither cared.

(The rest of the lemon has been deleted due to FFN rules. To read the rest, please visit  
www(dot)narutofic(dot)net(slash)viewuser(dot)php(question)uid(equals)30)

Somewhere in the darkness both of them decided that the best thing about house sitting was that they could fall asleep exactly where they were, halfway naked, and no one would care.

(break)

A dream starts like this.

Your mind catches the creaking in the house, a water pipe with condensation dripping to the floor, or a branch that decides to brush against the house with a soft breeze. One sound and your mind switches, starting a creation of images melded from random thoughts and things your eyes have seen. Reality and time are not a given in these images and everything is subject to new rules, rules your mind can create and change at will. Normally it's best to just enjoy the ride and follow it out, because you know you'll wake up at the end in reasonably the same shape as before, though you may be on the floor or find yourself about to eat your pillow.

So when Naruto heard something faintly resembling footsteps past the door, he didn't think anything of it. After all he was in a large house meant to be filled with a rich family and probably a servant or two. Two teenage boys couldn't possibly fill the place with enough noise to mute out the house's natural sounds, it just wasn't possible.

The sound repeated itself though and this time Naruto couldn't help but open his eyes and crane his head, trying to get a view of the hallway from the door which was partially open. Sasuke groaned softly in protest from where he was sleeping, his arm draped possessively over Naruto's body. Naruto stopped for a moment, then slowly slid out from his hold, crab walking across the floor until he was farther away and not disturbing Sasuke. Then he stood up, pulled on his jeans and shirt, and wandered out of the room.

Moonlight combined with pristine white walls gave the hallway an eerie glow. He could see the doors outlined from their dark wood and random picture frames dotted the walls, echoing family memories that held far too much money and too many fake smiles for Naruto's comfort. He suddenly felt like he was staying in some weird and freaky museum.

And the sound of small, quick footsteps echoed again farther down the hall.

Naruto glanced back in the theater room, then abandoned the thought of turning on the lights this close. He didn't want to wake Sasuke and he could see well enough to not kill himself, so instead he opted to turn on the lights when he reached whatever room was at the end of the hall. Yawning a bit he followed the sound, idly trying to remember if the family had mentioned a pet.

The hallway turned slightly, revealing more rooms and more family pictures before it finally reached a back room. Every so often Naruto heard the steps repeat themselves and he was pretty confident he was heading in the correct direction, but he kept his own pace silent and slow, not wanting to frighten whatever it was he was hearing so he could get a chance to see it. He soon found himself in a large room, lined mostly with what looked like bricks on the walls and a large stone stove. It looked more like an industrial kitchen of some sort, meant for heavy cooking for large parties, or for cooking things like dragons teeth and wizard's brew.

The steps echoed again, right in front of him. Naruto froze, his eyes scanning the darkness, then he slid his hand over the wall and flipped on the light.

Light filled the room along with silence and Naruto immediately shut his eyes from the sudden change, muttering a soft curse. He rubbed his eyes for a few moments before they finally adjusted, then he looked around the room.

"Well of course it's empty, you moron, you were probably following a mouse." Naruto softly growled at himself as the light illuminated a room that probably hadn't been used in years, with only one window at the back end obviously made for ventilation purposes. The room was empty of all obvious exits, save for the way Naruto entered, so the only possible thing that could have been in the room was a small animal. He couldn't have been following a person, that was for sure.

"You're in a big house and you're freaking yourself out. Get over it." He took a final glance around the room before heading for the door to head back to sleep.

It was only when he reached the light switch that he heard another soft sound in the room. Naruto turned back, glancing around again, but the room still revealed nothing out of the ordinary. He frowned and stepped over toward the back window, checking the lock just for peace of mind.

Wedged in the small space between the window and the window sill was an old, torn photo.

Naruto reached over and undid the latch, just enough for the window to open and let him pull out the photo without it ripping, then he closed the window back up and turned the smooth paper over to look at the picture.

Staring back at him was a blurry and unfocused picture. The picture was smeared with motion and all that Naruto could make out was what appeared to be a large glass eye painted in various shades of brown, surrounded by dark brown… fur?

"A stuffed animal?"

A couple more looks at the photo and that's what Naruto decided it was. He pocketed the photo and shut off the lights, heading back to his room.

Perhaps if he'd turned back to the window, he might have seen the eyes watching him leave.

Or maybe not.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Lost Hatred 

Fandom: Naruto

Author: Snow Tigra

Pairings: SasuNaru

Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses

Chapter 2

A morning starts like this. You wake up and stumble out of bed, wandering down the hall until you reach what your blurred mind might recognize as the kitchen or some semblance there of. If you're more awake you might stumble toward the bathroom first and take a shower, but generally it's the bathroom that sees first light and first wakefulness.

Wandering hands and yawning somehow manage to not hinder the look for food and soon you're sitting at the table with a bowl, milk and spoon, your mind awake enough to coordinate pouring the cereal without it landing on the table or floor instead of in the bowl.

Naruto let out a large yawn as he set the cereal box back down and glanced at the bright colors on the packaging. It sporting some name sounding far too healthy to be real food, but the picture on the outside looked like raisin bran… so it had to be raisin bran, right?

He poured on the milk and tried it.

Not a chance in hell.

He crunched on the cardboard and rubber that were obviously more health then food, before finally retreating to the sink and spitting it out, taking great joy in running the garbage disposal and watching it kill the poor excuse for cereal. He quickly closed the box and tucked it back up into the cupboard before beginning his search, again, for something to eat.

"You would think, with these guys being rich, they could at least afford real food. Iruka never buys the good cereal with the brand names. You'd think they'd have at least something!"

A soft snort came from the far door to the kitchen and Naruto didn't have to glance over his shoulder to know it was Sasuke. Sasuke's vocabulary was significantly shortened in the morning, least before he woke up completely. Naruto just smiled lightly and said 'morning' before looking into the next cupboard for food. He finally settled for toast with some homemade 'natural' version of jelly which actually tasted a step better then the fake stuff he was used to.

"We better find some real food here fast, I don't want to have to buy groceries the entire time I'm here. That would suck."

"They probably have some freezers or something in the basement with enough food to feed a continent." Sasuke opened the fridge and scanned the contents, then grabbed a can of pop and sat down across from Naruto, not even bothering to find something solid. Sasuke was one of those people who didn't touch solid food until well past noon.

"What's this?"

Naruto glanced up to see Sasuke holding the photo he'd found the night before. He shrugged. "I found it last night on the way to the bathroom. I think it's some stuffed animal."

Sasuke tilted the picture and then tilted his head in the other direction. "It looks like someone dropped the camera… or maybe accidentally hit the button without planning to take a picture. There's a foot back there."

"Huh?"

"Right here, see?" Sasuke pushed the photo across the table and Naruto licked the jelly off his fingers before picking it up. It still looked like a blurry stuffed animal eye to him, but after looking a bit longer he could see Sasuke was right. The stuffed animal didn't take up the whole photograph, and very unfocused in the background Naruto could make out what appeared to be floorboards and something that slightly resembled a house slipper, attached to a leg.

"Huh, weird. So, I figured today I was gonna explore some more, maybe find the animal this is from."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever, while you do that, I'll go practice."

"You still won't beat me…" Naruto remarked in a sing-song voice, a huge mocking grin crossing his face.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed to a glare and he stood up, making sure to give Naruto the finger before disappearing out of the room, leaving Naruto to his measly breakfast and exploring.

Exploring a place, normally, makes it smaller and more manageable. Once you become used to the twists and turns and stairways and rooms and many many doors, your mind starts to sketch out a map and soon it isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. However, in this case, Naruto seemed to get only more confused. By the time he reached the third floor the map in his mind resembled a 3 year old's definition of art drawn in a bright red crayon. He knew there were more rooms, but anything resembling order still eluded him.

A handful of hours later in his exploring and Naruto was finally exploring the back wing of the third floor. The area he found himself in seemed to be another wing of guest bedrooms or what might have once been guest bedrooms. One room held music stands and shelves of music, with a large grand piano, showing how someone in the family obviously loved music.

Beyond that was a room decorated in old cars with models and paints strewn around, the occupant obviously having been engaged in one project or another before their family decided to fly south for the winter.

Finally, at the very end of the hall, Naruto found a play room.

The door opened with a squeak of disuse and Naruto was greeted with the musty smell of mothballs and fabric toys that hadn't seen enough air or day light. Dust covered the hardwood floor in a light layer and toys were arranged around the room, all old and stuff and quite a few were patched from many years of love. Decorating the walls of the play room was a four sided mural of a beach, completely with sand castles and birds and even a dock reaching out into painted blue water.

Naruto smiled a bit and stepped into the room, glancing at the toys and animals. What ever kid had used this room had loved it quite a bit. Scuff marks revealed themselves under the slight layer of dust and when Naruto looked closer at the murals, he found they were old and worn, flecks of paint peeling off the walls.

A pile of stuffed animals in the corner caught Naruto's eyes and he couldn't resist stepping over to them. Kneeling in front of the worn bears and bunnies and dolls he pulled the photo from his pocket and glanced at each one.

It didn't take long for him to find a match.

"Bingo," he whispered softly, setting down the photo and reaching forward to pick up the bear. It was a simple design, very little shape save for a head, body and limbs. A single glass bead remained for an eye, while the other side of the face held a blank spot with a loose string, having lost its eye from time and wear. The bear's fur might once have been a dark brown, but now it was a dull sandy color, making it almost a perfect match for the room. There was also the strange fact that the back had a design of red splotches which looked like someone had spilled kool-aid over the back of the bear.

The sound of soft footsteps scampered across the floor behind Naruto.

Naruto blinked and stood up, turning slowly to look around the room, but same as the night before, he found nothing. He glanced back at the bear, then reached down to pick up the picture.

His hand stopped as he heard the sound again.

This time Naruto set down the bear and slowly turned his head, moving as little as he could to not surprise whatever was behind him.

Standing behind Naruto, dressed in a loose t-shirt and a pair of overalls, with one strap dangerously close to coming undone, was a little boy who couldn't be more then ten years old. His hair was a dusty red, the color muted in the light over head, cut unevenly around his face to give him a wild look as if he stepped off the set of Peter Pan as a member of the lost boys, or a child from the Jungle Book. His eyes were a matching muted green, looking as if the dust were actually creating a layer over his irises, kept in by the large wrinkles and dark bags under his eyes. The child looked on the verge of falling asleep at any second, but at the same time the effect made his eyes look too big for his head and they seemed to stick out a little too far, like a bug of some sort.

The boy wore no shoes and his feet were faded, being the only clue to the fact that he certainly couldn't be human. And the final touch? The boy was holding the bear from one hand… and suddenly Naruto wasn't.

Naruto swallowed, only able to really look at the boy. He couldn't think of anything to say and his mind was still wrapping around the idea of what he was seeing. No real feet? A sleepy, and creepy look? Children that appeared out of nowhere following strange sounds?

He couldn't possibly be looking at a ghost… could he?

"Uhh…. Hi…" Naruto winced at how weak his voice sounded. Brilliant. Yes, very brilliant.

The little boy didn't say anything in response, but instead tilted his head, giving Naruto a quizzical look.

"That your teddy?"

The little boy nodded.

And from there Naruto wasn't sure what to say. What do you say to a ghost boy who just suddenly decided to pop up in front of you? Was there even really anything you could say except be freaked out? Freaking out sounded pretty good right now, Naruto decided.

"Oh, well… ok then. I… I'll let you play with him then… s-see you later." Naruto inched back toward the door and groped for the handle without taking his eyes off the boy.

The little boy didn't seem to react at first and instead just watched him inch away. But as he went Naruto noticed the boy's eyes were widening, very slowly. Then his mouth suddenly opened, far too large for any child and his face distorted to an almost grotesque look of horror, followed by a scream that sent Naruto bolting from the door and stumbling down the stairs covering his ears as it vibrated through his scull.

"MOMMY!"


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses 

"What the fuck was that?"

Sasuke looked up from his game, glancing back over to Naruto. It had been a couple hours since Naruto had come racing down the stairs, his body insisting on running a very unsafe marathon and almost landing him flat on his face. Now his boyfriend, of sorts, was lying on the couch in the theater room, looking up at the ceiling and occasionally repeating the same words. What the fuck was that? Sasuke just shook his head, whatever it was, this was the oddest mood he'd ever seen Naruto in. He pressed pause on the game, causing his army person to stop in mid run and a zombie to pause just before the bullet hit him with perfect aim in the head. He turned and leaned over Naruto.

"Still convinced you saw a ghost?"

Naruto nodded, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. He didn't exactly act scared of the ghost and he certainly wasn't running to pack up his things and leave his winter break job with all haste, instead Naruto just looked confused as if the ceiling could offer any answers.

"Ghosts aren't real."

"Neither are zombies."

Sasuke smirked. "I know. If they were, I'd be packing a gun at all times."

Naruto finally glanced from the ceiling over to Sasuke and a small smile crossed his face. Apparently he was happy for the distraction. "You'd get your ass kicked."

"Not a chance. I have a life time of practice." Sasuke just kept grinning and moved over to pick up the controller again and jump back into his game. Behind him Naruto leaned forward and whispered softly in his ear.

"A life time of practice in easy mode."

A frown crossed Sasuke's face. "Excuse me?" That suggestion was just… insulting! "I do not play in easy mode."

"Liar. You played Resident Evil 4 in easy mode."

"There is only one mode for that game!" Sasuke growled out the words and switched his game back on. Naruto knew how much that bugged him, it was his only complaint about the game, that it didn't have a hard mode for him to be challenged on. Not that the game itself wasn't challenging…

"Big ol' mean Sasuke is a scared lil' boy who hides behind his gun."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he switched his character to knife mode.

And he still beat the game.

They actually spent that night in the lighthouse bedroom where Naruto had been told he could sleep. After a long night of playing video games and Naruto not really admitting that he didn't want to sleep, they finally made it back to the bedroom and settled in. Sasuke wasn't surprised one bit when Naruto snuggled up against him and fell asleep almost immediately. Sasuke, on the other hand, drifted off to sleep slower with a grin on his face as he debated how well the new Ultimate rocket launcher he'd won from beating the game in knife mode would kill all the zombies.

It was later in the night when he woke up to the sound of boards creaking above him in the ceiling and a small sound, almost like a scuffing, outside the room. Sasuke sat up and rubbed his eyes, glancing around the room. Shrugging to himself he wiggled out of Naruto's arms and wandered from the room, racking his sleep fuzzed mind for where the nearest bathroom was.

The house looked completely different at night, darkness surrounding him on every side and just screaming about how much it wanted to be in the next haunted house movie that appeared and disappeared in the movie theaters. It was perfect material and really all this place lacked was some large and foreboding painting of a creepy looking older owner whose eyes seemed to follow you no matter what direction you came from.

After much wandering Sasuke finally found the bathroom, but as he reached for the doorknob to close the door behind him and turn on the lights, a soft noise caught his ears.

By no jump of the imagination it actually sounded like someone was… crying?

Sasuke stepped back out of the bathroom and looked down the hall. He was at the bottom of the stairway in one of the far wings. There was only one other room in this place. Frowning he left the bathroom and stepped over to the other room, slowly opening the door.

What he found, beyond the door, was a mix between an office and a den, lined on three walls with thick volumes and dark wood shelving, a matching desk in the center of the room and a strangely matched ornate chandelier at the center of the ceiling. Sasuke reached over for the light switch and flipped it on, but the light didn't respond.

He opened his mouth to call out, but stopped himself when he realized how absurd the whole idea was. Of course there was no one in the room, only he and Naruto were in this place. No one would answer because no one should answer. Calling out wouldn't make any sense at all. This place was just a huge and creepy house and his mind was just getting the better of him.

So why was the floor wet and soaking his sock?

Sasuke stepped back, into the room, and shook out his foot a bit to be sure, but yes his sock was now soaked. Frowning and grumbling softly he leaned down to peel it off his foot, cursing himself for not going barefoot like he usually did.

As he leaned down to pull off his sock, his nose was assaulted by a thick, iron-like smell, almost causing him to cough. Meanwhile, behind him, he heard the same soft scuffing sound and the sound of someone breathing quickly. Sasuke froze, just barely in reach of his foot, and held his breath, listening to what actually sounded like slowly moving sand.

No, his mind insisted quickly, not possible. He was standing in the doorway of an office room full of books and everything you would expect to see in a modern office, minus the computer. There was nothing that could make such a sound, not even some old decorative time piece or something like that, least not that he could see in the shadows.

But then again the floor was wet. And it did sound like there was someone in the room.

Sasuke considered for a moment, then finally made up his mind to turn. Clenching his fists a bit, to steady himself, he straightened up and moved to turn and face into the office again. However he never made it to a full turn. Instead, at the last moment, something hard and cold smacked into his side painfully, sending him stumbling back into the wall.

Sasuke coughed in surprise and landed hard on the floor, feeling the thick liquid splash around him as stars crossed his sight. The scuffing in the room now sounded louder, become what seemed like a muffled growling yell. He could hear someone yelling at him, but he couldn't make out the words and before he could open his mouth and ask again, the same blunt object smacked into his upper chest. This time Sasuke cried out and doubled over, clutching his stomach as the voice grew louder.

He couldn't make out any other sounds in the room now, and his mind focused entirely on the muffled yells around him. Whoever was yelling was pissed as all hell, but he still couldn't make out a shape, nor could he understand any of the words. His chest hurt from the last blow and the smell coming from the liquid on the floor was almost enough to make him throw up. Did it really smell like blood or was that just his panicked mind adding to his current state? He didn't know… and honestly he didn't care.

Sasuke groaned and tried crawling toward the door, only to feel the same force slam into his side, pain shooting through his body as he was sure he heard something inside him crack. Sasuke crumbled to the floor and immediately coughed to keep the liquid from filling his mouth and nose.

It had to be blood. Fuck it tasted like blood.

Sasuke choked and spit out what managed to get into his mouth, wiping his face on the back of his arm. This time he didn't bother trying to look up. This time he scrambled across the floor, as quickly as he could to the desk and grabbed the first thing he could reach. He didn't know what the object was, beyond the fact that it was round, smooth and heavy. Turning around quickly he threw it at the relative area where he was sure the thing would be.

The sound of shattering glass filled the room and Sasuke covered his ears, screaming with the thing in the room as the sound reverberated through his skull. Then another scream joined in with theirs and Sasuke collapsed to the ground, only hearing one word as he blacked out.

"MOMMY!"


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses 

Chapter 4

The next morning found both Naruto and Sasuke sitting in the bedroom quietly, leaning against the headboard. Neither said anything to the other, but both were thinking the same thing. Both had heard the scream at one point or another – though the other didn't know it – and it was the center of all their thoughts. And neither wanted to leave the bedroom until they had some sort of information to set their thoughts at ease.

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto and Naruto glanced over at him, both watching each other in silence.

"Did you… hear something last night?" Naruto asked softly.

"No." Sasuke broke eye contact with Naruto and pushed himself out of the bed, heading for the bathroom. No, he hadn't heard a single thing last night. He'd dreamt hearing a scream, and that was completely different. He pulled the door closed behind him and immediately stepped in front of the full length mirror, frowning softly.

It was the morning after his disturbing dream and his body didn't show a single sign of it. He looked over himself completely, but didn't find a single scrape, cut or bruise to even suggest how close he'd felt to dying. The only hint of it was the sleepy look in his eyes and the hinted taste of blood in his mouth. But the blood could be explained from memory, right?

Sasuke stuck his finger in his mouth and pulled it out, but there was no blood. It had to have just been from the dream. There was no other explination for all of this that was going on.

"Ghosts don't exist," he said to himself softly, glaring into the mirror again. It just wasn't possible.

A knock sounded on the door. "Sasuke?" Naruto's voice was muffled and Sasuke could hear a hint of worry there. But no, he still refused to give into the thought.

"I'm taking a shower, I'll be out in a bit." With that he moved and turned on the water, waiting for it to turn scalding hot. Then he stepped inside and attempted to burn and wash the dream away.

Naruto was found about half an hour later sitting in the kitchen, looking at the odd photo he'd found. The fuzzed picture echoed in his thoughts and he'd considered, for a while, actually returning to that room for that bear, but he didn't like the idea of seeing that kid again.

It wasn't that the kid scared him, in fact it was quite the opposite because he loved the idea of ghosts and he thought that seeing one was one of the coolest things in the world that could happen to him. But he couldn't get the boy's expression out of his mind when he screamed. He couldn't stop thinking about the way his face had distorted and twisted, molding with his mouth to some odd and inhuman shape that seemed to be made of pure fear.

Weren't ghosts supposed to be scary and not scared of you?

And then there was the matter of Sasuke waking up and acting like he did.

In spite of all the zombies and monsters that Sasuke killed on a daily basis from safely on the couch, apparently the thought of believing in what had obviously been a ghost was a bit too much. Then again, Naruto couldn't really blame him, considering that Sasuke hadn't seen the little boy, he only had Naruto's word. Still… shouldn't that be enough? Shouldn't he be able to just trust Naruto?

Maybe that's what was really bugging him about this whole… weirdness; the fact that Sasuke didn't believe him.

Naruto sighed softly and closed his eyes leaning back. He had no idea how to convince Sasuke and there was no reason he should. Damnit, didn't being in a relationship mean that Sasuke should trust him? He groaned softly as soon as he thought that. It made him and Sasuke sound so… old.

Getting up from the table, and abandoning all thoughts of breakfast to a time when he felt better, he left the kitchen and headed for the home theater room. He was semi stressed out and needed time to think, and there was no better way to clear his mind then by kicking a couple digital asses across the screen.

It wasn't too much longer before he was sitting on the couch in front of the large projector, listening to characters scream and yell out futile battle cries in Japanese before he obliterated them with several instant kill moves. None of them stood a chance against his deadly yoyo of doom and soon he couldn't help by smile as they were all blown away by such childlike items as teddy bears and tricycles.

Somewhere in the middle of the game, well into something like his 15th consecutive kill, he heard a soft giggle across the room. Naruto blinked and pressed pause on the game, turning his head. His breath caught in his throat as he spotted the small boy with his worn teddy bear sitting next to him on the couch, giggling softly at what was on the screen.

He was sitting near the edge of the couch, his little legs dangling off the side, swinging back and forth in childish glee. The bear was sitting in his lab and he had his hands around it, bouncing it a bit as if he were holding and entertaining an infant. The smile on his face was twisted and elongated, throwing the rest of his features out of sync, but he still seemed happy and sweet, even if his face looked like an oddly stretched canvas. After he realized the game was paused he turned his head to Naruto and tilted it, his expression floating to one of questioning, shifting as smoothly as water.

"Uhh… you want to keep watching me play?" Naruto couldn't think of anything else to say. What the hell do you say to a ghost kid who just popped out of nowhere to watch your game?

But then… maybe if he kept playing… maybe then Sasuke would come into the room and see the boy. Then he would finally believe Naruto was telling the truth.

Naruto grinned to himself and pressed the pause button, going back to playing the game. And all the while he listened to the boy giggle beside him and watched him out of the corner of his eye, waiting for Sasuke to show up and be proven wrong.

The shower helped a little, but front the moment Sasuke stepped out and began to towel off his now red skin his mind refused to leave the subject of his dream. Growling softly at himself in frustration he toweled off and quickly got dressed, leaving the bathroom as quickly as he could, as if he could leave the memory of that dream behind as well.

Food offered small comfort and really only gave him more time to think about it as he waited for the toast to pop up. As soon as the browned bread came into view he lost his appetite and tossed it in the garbage, going back for his normal can of pop. And still, even that didn't distract him.

All he could think about was the dream, and that office.

Sasuke turned and headed for the home theater where he knew Naruto was playing with one game or another, but he didn't make it far, especially when he entered the same hallway that he knew led, in the other direction, to the office.

Would it really hurt to go see?

But what was the point of going? He knew it was a dream. He knew it wasn't real, otherwise there was no explanation for why he'd woken up back in the bedroom. And besides that ghosts and monsters didn't exist. Houses weren't really haunted, that only happened in video games and movies and the rest could be chalked up to creepy large houses and people with overactive imaginations. Sasuke didn't have an overactive imagination.

He knew what was real and what wasn't.

And yet, a moment later, he found himself walking down the hall toward the office. And, a moment after that, he found himself standing in the doorway, looking inside.

The office looked no different from before. His eyes crossed over the dark wood desk and shelves full of books and odd little decorations that such offices usually had in show houses. There was the required globe which spun on its tilted axis, the leather looking box with an old and rusted lock, and a display case in the back boasting a well locked old fashioned pistol that obviously could never be used now without a couple rolls of duct tape to hold it together.

Nothing in the room seemed out of order or out of place. Sasuke resisted the urge to inspect the shelves more closely and instead leaned down to brush his hand against the wooden paneled floor. But there was no blood nor any stain, just smooth wooden floor which was polished, yet worn from years of use. One part looked a little more washed then usual- but that was probably his imagination.

"Stupid." He muttered softly, cursing himself more then anything else. It was a dream. Of course it was a dream. Of course none of it was real. Why else would the room look like this without any stains or any sand or any gla-

A sharp pain bit into the bottom of Sasuke's foot.

Sasuke winced and stepped back, leaning against the desk. He lifted his foot and slipped off his sock, only to find a small spot of blood on his heel, but he couldn't see… Frowning he hopped over to the desk chair and sat down, pulling his foot closer to see what had cut him.

It took some work, and quite a few held breaths, but finally Sasuke was able to pull out the small shard of glass and he dropped it on the desk, rubbing the bottom of his foot and pressing two fingers where he'd been cut to slow the bleeding. Upon closer look the shard of glass seemed to sparkle in the light and almost resembled…

Sasuke jumped as he heard glass shatter up against the wall beside him. Turning quickly his vision spun, black dots threatening to send him into unconsciousness. He groaned softly and gripped the arms of the chair, pressing his cut foot tightly against the floor to remind himself he wasn't really moving and the room wasn't really spinning. It was all solid under him, something else was making his vision do the flip-flop.

Slowly the room stopped jumping and turning and settled down, so that Sasuke could see. The room was a hint darker now, no sunlight coming from the windows outside. Standing in the doorway he could see a female shape and all around him yelling echoed, angry yelling just garbbled enough so that he couldn't understand the actual words.

Sasuke's mind dropped into a panic. The room around him was still moving, but he really didn't care, he had to get out of here. Survival instinct or whatever it might be called kicked in and Sasuke bolted up from the chair- or rather he tried to. But as soon as he moved, something seemed to wrap around him and clamped him into the chair, much like those roller coaster harnesses that come down over your shoulders. In one movements his body's ability to move was restricted and he dropped back into the chair hard, almost coughing from the sudden change.

The yelling around him grew louder, as if the conversation were growing more heated. Sasuke could hear the deeper of the two voices as if it were screaming in his ear, pain flowing through his head from the sheer anger leaking there. He could feel anger and hatred and betrayl as if they were actual physical things standing next to him, surrounding him and threatening to drowd out everything he knew about the world.

And yet at the same time he could feel what was across the room. He could feel the fear and love and despair leaking from the blurred shape near the door, the higher voice crying and pleading, almost begging.

Sasuke's stomach began to move with the room and he suddenly felt sick, needing to move and bend over and hold his stomach, but he still couldn't move. Instead the voices just got louder and the pure emotion rolled over him, threatening to suffocate him with the intensity.

Then, suddenly, it all snapped off. The emotions, the movement of the room, the sickness in his stomach, it all disappeared in a blink, leaving Sasuke alone in the room holding his breath in surprise.

"I'll kill you." Whispered a low voice in his ear, low, rumbling and scratchy.

Sasuke could suddenly move and he did exactly that, his body jerking out of the chair and stumbling to the floor where he turned around quickly and ignored the shards of glass that bit into his hands.

Behind him, standing behind the desk – if anyone could really call it that – was something he'd never seen before and something his mind couldn't honestly comprehend.

It looked like a blob, that was the first thought. A huge pile of brown swirled mass, slowly rippling and pulsating with life as red veins of color swirled over it's… skin. The thing nearly reached the ceiling and as Sasuke stared at it he managed, just barely, to make out what appeared to be a head, but honestly he could only tell that by the eyes and mouth. The eyes were black and pupiless, looking like deep black holes descending into some other dimension that no one dared look into too long. Meanwhile the mouth was merely a swollen cut just below the eyes, slowly moving as if the thing were breathing.

Sasuke felt his entire body lock up with fear as he noticed the thing seemed to actually be made of sand… and it was slowly moving over the floor, dripping toward him.

"I'll kill you." Those words sounded again in the same low voice and as Sasuke heard them all other sound dropped out. He couldn't move, he couldn't think and all he could do was watch as the thing slowly seeped over his skin, covering his feet with sand that moved too smoothly to be anything but water, but was hard and rough enough that it just couldn't be.

A second later pain bit into his foot and Sasuke's body jerked again. This time he scrambled across the floor so quickly he ran himself into the wall, which he gripped at painfully, pressing his cut hands against it to increase the pain.

Anything to let him keep the ability to move!

He managed to make it to the door, but then the thing seemed to grow in front of him, completely filling his vision. Sasuke coughed and looked up in horror at the large pile of what just had to be living sand in front of him. His exit was blocked, there was no way he could leave. He couldn't go anywhere.

"I'll kill you."

The thing slithered forward and then did the last thing Sasuke expected. Dark black eyes lit up, almost seeming to glow before the sand burst apart, like a floodgate had just been released. Sasuke cried out as he was covered in sand and all air disappeared. He coughed and choked for air and then finally went still as his buried body completely shut down.

"Sasuke?"

Naruto stepped into the kitchen, frowning softly. He'd been playing the game for hours now and though there wasn't a clock in the theater room, he'd been able to see the day pass away from the light shining in from the hall. The little ghost boy had disappeared some time ago, his body and bear fading away with one last giggle as Naruto finished off one of the story modes and was treated to a badly animated video feature with very over dramatic voice actors that brought about more laughter then emotions. Ahh the wonder of dubbed games.

But now that game was over and Naruto was wondering where his boyfriend was. It wasn't usual for Sasuke to up and disappear for hours on end without a single word to him. Sasuke wasn't like that, he always let Naruto where he was, it was one of those things he was all anal about like perfectly folding his clothes and playing a game until he beat it with perfect health and a perfect score. Sasuke was nothing but consistant on the things he thought were important, almost to a level that some might call obsessive. Naruto liked to think he was one of those things… he was, wasn't he?

"Sasuke? Where'd you go?" Naruto walked back from the kitchen, heading to the bedroom they'd been give to stay in. Upon stepping in the room he finally found Sasuke…

Packing.

Naruto blinked. What the hell? Sasuke was packing his suitcase with all his clothes. And what's more, he wasn't folding them, he was stuffing them in with complete disregard for any wrinkles or crushed shirts or buried items. The act was hurried and almost reckless.

"Sasuke… what's going on?"

Sasuke didn't look up at Naruto, though his hurried hands did pause long enough for Naruto to notice the hasty bandages. "I'm going home."

"Wha- wait a second. What happened? Why are your hands… bleeding?" Naruto's voice trailed off as he saw the red seeping through the bandages. His mind wasn't functioning correctly to grasp the situation. All he could do was ask over and over again in his mental voice What happened? What happened? What happened?

"I'm going home Naruto. I'm not staying here anymore."

"What happened? Did you… did you see something?" That had to be the reason right? This had to be what Sasuke looked like when he was panicking right? Naruto had never seen Sasuke panic in the face of anything. Sasuke was laid back, Sasuke was in control, Sasuke was strong. Nothing scared him like this. There was nothing that could. "Did you… see the ghost-"

"They don't exist!" Sasuke's voice came out in a sharp yell as he whirled to face Naruto. The effect was startling enough that Naruto stumbled back, just staring at him with wide eyes. "They don't exist," Sasuke repeated, turning back to his bag and packing. Oddly it was like he was trying to convinse himself that was the truth. But… Sasuke had never yelled at Naruto before.

Naruto swallowed, just watching him quietly for a long moment, his eyes following as each shirt and sock was tucked in the bag. Sasuke wasn't even going after his games which were in the theater. That alone was enough to tell Naruto something was wrong. "Sasuke… please talk to me." He whispered softly, not sure what else to do.

Finally Sasuke's hands stopped their hurried movements and he paused, seeming to take a couple long breaths before he glanced at Naruto. But the glance was small and quick, as if Sasuke couldn't look at him after what had happened. "I know you won't leave, you have a job… but I can't stay here."

"Please tell me what you saw."

"Nothing," Sasuke answered. "I saw nothing. I just can't stay."

Naruto winced, watching him sadly. "Are you… mad at me for taking this job?"

Sasuke shook his head, still avoiding Naruto's eyes as he zipped up his backpack. "I just need to leave. I… I'll call you." With those words he tossed the bag over his shoulder and moved to leave the room.

Normally, when Sasuke left any room Naruto was in for more then a bathroom trip, he'd do something small. If they weren't in public Sasuke would give Naruto a small kiss, and if they were around others, well then a small hand brush was enough. Naruto's heart fell to the floor as Sasuke even forgot that part of his normal routine and just left the room for the front door. Naruto couldn't help the sinking feeling that just seemed to seep over and cover him. He couldn't even make himself follow Sasuke to the door to watch him leave, seeing him act like this was bad enough.

He listened to the footsteps in the hall and the door opening to reveal the sound of the wind chimes and few cars driving by the road. Then the door slid shut and Naruto was left in the room, staring at the single shirt Sasuke had left behind hanging over the bedpost. He stared at it for a few more seconds, then it all seemed to come crashing down. Naruto crawled into bed, pulling the shirt close to him and closed his eyes.

It smelled like Sasuke was next to him and maybe if he closed his eyes tight enough and wished hard enough… maybe then he could convinse himself that Sasuke was there.

For the first time, now that he was by himself, the empty house did seem scary. Funny how that never happened until you were alone.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses 

Chapter 5

The next morning came and went and Naruto really didn't feel any better. He stayed curled in the bed, watching the lighthouses around the room as they shined out their fake water-colored lights across painted seascapes, searching for ships that would never come sailing in any closer. The sunlight dotted through the lacy curtains into the room and danced over Naruto's face, taunting him with fake cheerfulness and hints of the smile he might have had, were Sasuke still next to him.

Days alone sucked.

Days alone after a fight sucked more.

Naruto finally managed to pull himself out of bed well after noon. Shower and an attempt at food didn't really help the matter, but around the time he was attempting to eat the cardboard that this family called cereal he had a plan formed. Iruka did always say that the best way to sort out a problem was to clean, something about the action allowing one to clean their head and get things straightened out until the problem really didn't seem so bad. And part of Naruto's job in this house was to keep it clean, so spending the rest of the day dusting and sweeping really only made sense. Then, just maybe, Sasuke would come back and knock on the door that night to apologize… or at the very least Naruto would have an idea of what to say to him if he called.

Naruto abandoned the food down the drain and opted for Sasuke's favorite breakfast – a can of pop – and made his way to the hall closet to gather cleaning supplies and threw himself completely into the work.

Hours passed with no real incidents as Naruto dusted old carved furniture, swept hardwood floors and carefully vacuumed carpets that really looked far too expensive to be stepped on. The house was really so clean it didn't need much attention, but once Naruto set his mind to it he found he was quite happy for the distraction and he abused it to its fullest potential. The house would be shining and spotless before he debated the issue with the fight and Sasuke again, he was going to make sure of that.

Somewhere along the line Naruto made his way to the second floor and was going room by room, cleaning every nook and cranny he could find. He stepped into the playroom without a second thought and carefully began to wash the walls, careful not to disturb the painted mural of a beach when a familiar sound echoed through the room, of child's laughter. Naruto frowned softly and didn't turn.

"I'm not in the mood really, you made Sasuke and I fight."

He didn't have to turn back to know the little boy was standing behind him and he could just picture the boy cocking his head as he focused on the wall. The last thing Naruto wanted to deal with today was ghosts.

But then… something occurred to him.

Naruto turned to look at the boy and found him sitting in a corner of the room, playing with his teddy bear and being happily distracted by whatever stories he was telling in his mind.

"Hey kid… do you know what Sasuke saw?"

The little boy stopped bouncing his teddy bear and looked up to meet Naruto's eyes. Naruto watched as he opened his mouth and it moved, looking like it was forming words, but no sound came out. Instead the boy soon moved to his feet and wandered over to Naruto, dragging his teddy behind him.

"Right, yeah, silly me, ghosts can't talk. You only moan and rattle chains and stuff, isn't that right?" Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes at himself as he picked up the broom and started to sweep. It took him a second to realize but the ghost boy was now standing over by the large dresser as if he were trying to reach behind it.

Naruto blinked.

"Oh what the hell." He set down the broom and walked over to the boy. Glancing at his hand one more time and the weirdly proportioned face, Naruto gave a shrug and stepped to the side of the dresser, slowly pushing it away from the wall.

What he found behind the dresser was the last thing he expected in a place like this. Scattered across the wall in this specific spot were pencil and pen marks with a bit of marker and crayon mixed in. Small uneven lines created a ladder up the side, ticking off a child's height until it reached the exact height that the ghost boy was standing at, marking him as a little over eight years old. Crayon hearts and something that might have resembled a teddy bear were drawn on the lower part of the wall next to a name.

"Gaara?"

Naruto blinked and turned to look at the little boy. "Is all this yours? Are you Gaara?"

The little ghost boy's lips moved, lengthening into a long and very creepy smile that Naruto half expected to have lines of razor sharp teeth. But his eyes shone with light on the distorted face and Naruto couldn't really feel creeped out, it wasn't like it was the little boy's fault that he was a ghost. Naruto returned a small smile.

The little boy, Gaara, quickly ran over to the wall, pointing at some of the markings, obviously trying to tell Naruto something. His motions were quick and his mouth moved as if he were attempting to talk a mile a second, and Naruto surprised himself by laughing, the sound filling the room. The sound made the boy stop and look at him with a cocked head, but Naruto just couldn't help it. Suddenly all he wanted to do was laugh.

The good mood was suddenly contagious and the boy was smiling more, pointing and nearly jumping as he silently told Naruto about every mark on the way, animated in only the way a young child can be. Naruto's grin never left his face as he watched the little boy. He couldn't hear him and had no idea what he was saying, but he didn't care. It was just too cute to resist.

On the wall, toward the floor, about ankle height, was a place where child scribblings had traced out hand prints on the wall, perfectly matching the ghost boy's hands. He pressed his hands to the wall, over the tracings, then smiled and pointed at Naruto. Naruto shrugged to himself and knelt down, placing his hands on the wall over the markings to make the boy smile more.

"Ooops, looks like my hands are bigger then yours." He smiled and turned toward the boy…

But the boy was gone.

Naruto blinked and sat back from the wall, glancing around the room. Oddly enough he found the room empty, no ghost boy in sight. He'd just suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Naruto blinked again and even rubbed his eyes for his own benefit, but the ghost boy was completely gone with no sign of coming back. Upon realizing this Naruto couldn't stop his smile from disappearing. He was so happy being distracted with the cute little dead child, it had taken his mind completely off Sasuke…

He stopped that thought before it could completely destroy the mood. Turning away from the wall he moved to pick up his broom and start cleaning… only to find that the broom was gone.

"What the hell?"

A quick check around the room left no clue as to where the broom had gone to, save for one small factor. The room Naruto was now standing in was spotless. Not spotless as in perfectly cleaned, but rather spotless in the fact that there was no cleaning that was needed from age or action. In fact, and perhaps a much better description, the room was brand new.

"How the hell…"

A giggle passed through the room and Naruto jumped as if he'd heard a thick blood curling scream. Before he could relax and yell at himself for being so jumpy, a young boy scrambled into the room, a smile pasted brightly across his face.

His short and muzzled red hair was easily familiar as was the pair of worn and loved overalls that failed to clasp over one shoulder, though now Naruto could make out the true features of his face. Bright green eyes and a cute little smile would have charmed any would be parents and probably charmed his own parents even more. His smile and giggle were just as contagious a second ago, and Naruto once again found himself smiling brightly as the boy dropped down in the small indoor sandbox and began playing with some of his toys. He was just a normal little boy.

"Gaara," the name was said with a good natured laugh and Naruto jumped again – though not as severely this time – and turned to find another person standing in the doorway. She was a beautiful young woman, resembling Gaara in many ways. Her body was thin and almost athletic, but not enough to take away the very distinct fact that she was a beautiful female. Her red hair was streaked very lightly with blond, which could have been natural, and her eyes were the exact same shade of green. She wore a simple but flattering summer dress, her hair tied back with a ribbon.

Naruto stepped back silently and watched as the woman stepped over to the sandbox and scooped up some of the sand, playing with him. He tilted his head a bit, surprised that for the first time he could actually hear Gaara's voice.

"Gaara honey, mommy has a secret to tell you."

The little boy looked up, his eyes shining in excitement. He set down his shovel and crawled closer, waiting eagerly for the secret.

"Gaara," she said, the smile nearly glowing on her face "You're going to have a little sister."

"Sister?" The little boy blinked at her and tilted his head.

The mother smiled sweeter. "You're going to have a little mommy to play with. Her name will be Temari."

"Te… Te.. maaa… ri…"

"Temari."

"A sister?" Naruto stepped back from the two of them, some need to let them have their happy moment in privacy over came him and he felt the need to leave the room and let them be. However, his step back seemed to trigger something and a literal crack shattered the vision in front of him. Naruto winced and ducked out of the room, holding his head as their voices echoed around him, painfully loud.

And then suddenly the ghost boy was in front of him again.

Screaming.

The sound exploded through his brain, hard enough and painful enough to send Naruto crashing to the floor, knocking one of his knees hard on the floor. Naruto covered his ears – for all the good it would do – as tightly as he could, but the sound only seemed to get louder. Keeping his eyes closed and his ears covered, he moved back from the ghost boy, trying to get away without falling flat on his face.

Too late he realized that there wasn't a wall behind him, but instead a set of stairs.

Naruto cried out in pain and rolled himself into a ball as his body tumbled down the hardwood staircase. Blackness rocketed through his brain as he crashed onto each step and was sent painfully down onto the next. A couple seconds of quick and harsh pain seemed like a life time, until he landed on the floor with a force hard enough to send red sparks through the blackness of his mind and he could feel one of his knees growing warm with blood from the abused skin, while his arm started bragging about the size of the bruise he would have in the morning.

At least the screaming had stopped.

Naruto groaned loudly in pain and rolled over onto his back, catching his breath. The pain from the fall and the ringing in his head slowly began to shrink into a dull thudding in his body, but it was still strong enough to discourage any movement.

"I hate ghosts. I hate huge houses. I hate cleaning. I miss Sasuke. I hate taking care of this stupid living twilight zone of a house! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS JOB!" He yelled as loud as he could and for a moment he actually felt good about adding his angry voice to the house's silent atmosphere. Then the satisfaction faded and Naruto went back to moaning in pain.

At least nothing was broken.

He didn't know how long he lay on the floor, and honestly didn't care, but finally he managed to feel numb enough to try sitting up. His body trembled from the effort and he could feel more bruises yelling at him for attempting to move, but somehow he managed to make it to a sitting up position. Taking a slow breath he rubbed his head and looked around.

"I'm by the office… maybe I should call an ambulance and tell them this fucking house is trying to kill me. There're enough movies about crap like that," he muttered to himself as he pulled himself up on the wall and clung to it as he stepped into the room.

His steps stopped as he heard the same giggle and this time Naruto wasn't happy to hear it. "NO! I'm sick of being haunted! I hurt like hell! Just leave me alone!"

The giggle didn't stop and Naruto felt the room around him shift again, becoming that strange clean as the play room above had been. Naruto scrambled over to the desk and grabbed for the phone, but his movement was too frantic and he only ended up knocking it to the floor, the sound echoing around the room painfully loud. Naruto swore and moved after it, determined to call for help…

Help from what?

Naruto paused in mid-motion as the world around him went deathly silent. Everything seemed to stop and even the air tasted stale and dead. Then, melting in around him, whispers began to fill his ears. He turned, not able to resist wondering where the sound came from. Looking up, he found he wasn't the only one in the office anymore.

Standing not two feet away from him was a tall black shape, obviously a man in some sort of business suit from the edges and contours and cleanly cut silhouette of his hair. The man was moving, animated in his anger, as whispers of hatred emitted from his form, too low and hissing to be understood.

In the doorway, facing the shadow near Naruto, was another, this one wearing a dress that reached her knees, also cloaked in shadows and darkness. Desperate whispers left her lips and the scene around him choked with tension. If death were a being it was standing in this room. Naruto couldn't move, all he could do was crouch on the ground watching as the two shadows grew more fevered in their actions, shaking and jerking as if they were having seizures. Inhuman movements like something from a strobe light rocked each and a low crying of agony filled the room, along with the sounds of a baby crying.

"Fuck this," Naruto muttered and crawled around the shadows, careful not to touch them. Hell if he was staying in this messed up place. He wasn't crazy, he knew when a place wasn't safe, and this room was sooooo not safe at all. Only in horror movies were people stupid enough to stay in a place like this and Naruto had seen enough to know better. Crawling to the center of the room, well away from the two crazy shadows, Naruto pushed himself to his feet and bolted for the door.

Distantly he heard the same scream from the ghost boy echo around him, but nothing could make him glance back. He didn't even stop for his shoes as he tore out of the house, throwing the door open and stumbling out into the night onto the harsh uneven pavement. He'd take care of his feet later. All he wanted now was to get away from that messed up place.

Perhaps if he'd looked back he would have realized his mistake, the door left to swing open in the midnight breeze.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses 

Iruka's house was depressingly empty when Naruto finally managed to make his way home. He opened the door and slammed it behind him, hard enough to shake the pictures on the wall, then dropped into the couch in the living room. Time seemed to slow around him as he finally let himself breathe, and his lungs and body screamed at him for the mistreatment. He didn't know how far away that house was, but he knew it was a ways, and he'd just run the entire way home. He'd just completed a marathon when he'd never run for more then a game of hide and seek in his life, and his body was now painfully reminding him of that fact.

Meanwhile the silence around him was reminding him how alone he was.

Time passed and he heard several cars drive by before he finally sat up and inspected his feet. Luckily none of the skin was broken, but his feet were red and throbbing and not at all happy with him.

"Well it beats dealing with freaky ghosts and little children who don't know how to buckle their own fickin overalls." Naruto limped his way across the living room and stumbled into the bathroom, running the water and just sat in the warm tub, not even caring that he hadn't bothered to slip out of his clothes. Screw the rules, he deserved the ability to relax for a second, in an un-haunted house!

After a long and very comforting round of warm bath therapy Naruto wandered to his bedroom and dropped into the bed, barely giving himself time to strip out of his soaked clothes before he just collapsed from exhaustion. The bed sheets covered him in comfort and Naruto even let out a sigh of relief, finally perfectly warm and safe.

The house around him was empty, he knew that without checking for some sort of note from Iruka. Iruka had already told him that he'd be visiting his new boyfriend and he'd left Naruto a phone number should an emergency occur. A phone number which Naruto considered calling right now… but what would he say?

"Hi Iruka. Yeah, I ran out of the house I was sitting because some freaky kid and shadows scared the crap out of me. No I'm not going back. Yes I'm acting like a 2 year old who's afraid of the monster under his bed…" Naruto's mocking voice faded into the darkness of a room wallpapered with ninjas and shelves filled with books from childhood and current classes. Yeah, right, that would really sound mature.

Naruto rolled over in bed, and snuggled closer to his pillow, frowning more. Across from him, sitting on the bedside table, was a hastily taken picture of him and Sasuke. Sasuke had never been the type to enjoy camera or hot summer days outside rather then in front of a video game console. So when their class had taken a biology field trip to the local Botanical Gardens, Naruto had literally bent over backwards convincing one of his classmates to smuggle with a camera and get a picture of both of them. After much begging the resulting picture showed Naruto with his hand around Sasuke's shoulders, grinning in to the camera with triumph, while Sasuke looked away, his normal bored look on his face. Still, in the picture and preserved for all time, was the smallest of smirks on Sasuke's face, as if he were conceding that Naruto had outsmarted him and he was actually impressed by it.

Naruto looked at that picture now and he felt his stomach drop another couple floors. He missed Sasuke.

Sasuke had run out of the house and had been a heartless moron about Naruto's feelings. But then, that was just how Sasuke was. It was obvious now that the idea of ghosts had scared the crap out of Sasuke, and Naruto couldn't help but feel like a heel for not noticing that in the first place.

"Maybe if I'd noticed that then neither of us would have seen what we did in that place… I hate that house."

Naruto grumbled a few more choice words, then closed his eyes to try and get some sleep.

Sleep and dreams didn't come easy for Naruto, and while the familiarity of his own home helped, the small noises of the house settling and whatever sound managed to sneak through his closed window didn't help. Instead of actually sleeping, Naruto dozed in and out of consciousness, not able to really stay in either state long enough for it to matter. It was almost as if he were caught in some sort of limbo, but he was too tired of everything to complain.

Somewhere, around midnight, he did manage to start to slip into a sleep that was actually worth something. So, if course, it only made sense that he was woken up a couple minutes later by the feeling of something on his bed, as if it had been waiting for him to hit just the right state of unconsciousness.

The sheets around Naruto's legs shifted, slowly pooling at his feet. He could feel something crawling along beside his body, slowly nearing toward his head. Most people would have been scared and for a second it crossed Naruto's mind to have the normal horror movie reaction, but then he just decided not to.

He was sick of all this crap.

Naruto sat up in bed and yanked on the covers. "Get the hell away from me and leave me the hell alone!!"

There seemed to be a soft thud as the ghost boy was tossed to the ground, landing hard on his bottom, if such a thing were possible for a ghost. Then the little boy curled up on the floor and silently started to cry.

"I hate children," he muttered as he slid out of bed.

He did his best to ignore the crying child, moving over to the closet to get dressed. He was still being haunted and he didn't feel like sleeping, not after remembering what the second thing looked like from the house. Instead it was time to get dressed and then stay by a door, in case that thing showed up again.

He had to think of a way to get this ghost to stop following him. Weren't ghosts supposed to only stick with whatever they were attached to or some crap like that? That's what all the movies said; something about unfinished business.

Naruto frowned and glanced over to the kid who was rubbing his knee and wiping away his tears.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." The tossed on a shirt and a boring pair of jeans, then walked over to the kid, kneeling down in front of him.

"Hey… Gaara, right?"

The boy silently sniffled and looked up at him.

"No hard feelings ok? I'm just really sick of being followed by ghosts especially since you're big brother is pretty scary looking. So do me a favor and help me figure out how to send you guys toward the light or wherever the hell it is that you're supposed to go."

Gaara blinked and tilted his head, looking at Naruto in confusion.

Naruto just groaned. "How am I supposed to get rid of you?"

That question seemed to be the magical one, because at those words the boy's eyes lit up. Scrambling to his feet he looked around the room, then spotted Naruto's book shelf. Smiling brightly, the boy ran over and started pointing.

"With…. Biology?"

The little boy frowned and shook his head, immediately pointing to another book.

"With… biology and algebra?"

The little boy frowned and shook his head again, moving to another.

This little game continued until the boy seemed to get so frustrated he was jumping up and down and nearly glaring at Naruto and by this time they were out in the living room looking at Iruka's books from the classes he taught. Yet still Naruto couldn't make sense of what the boy was saying. He just seemed to point at random books that made no sense at all…

Then the boy pointed at an empty book shelf and made the motion of putting the books onto the shelf in the air.

"The… library."

Well of course! That had to be it! Books everywhere, it didn't matter what kind, and shelves empty and full of books. That had to be what the ghost was talking about, or rather pointing about. And Naruto couldn't help but grin as he finally figured it out.

"Well, I guess you're in luck kid, because I'm the only person who has a key that can access the library at this time of night."

The library was an older building, just off the main campus from the school. Sometime long ago it had been a government building of some sort, so now it sported pillars in the front near the door and managed to somehow look much older and grander then the state's budget actually allowed. In contrast Naruto knew all the shelves inside were cheap and warped from age, barely able to stand the weight of the books constantly being shifted back and forth.

It was barely two blocks to the library in the middle of the night and Naruto walked there as quickly as he could, not worried about the ghost boy at all. Ok, no that wasn't the truth. Naruto could tell himself over and over again that he didn't care about the ghost boy, but he still kept glancing over his shoulder to see if he was there and always found the thing just a step behind him, as if it were attached to his back. He didn't stop to think about how other things might also be attached to him like the little boy, and instead just walked faster, eager to get this all over with.

Only minutes seemed to pass and he was standing in front of the library, shuffling through his pocket for the keys to the side door. He knew for a fact that in spite of the security sign on the window, the security system hadn't worked in years and there were only one or two librarians watching the library floors after it was closed. Whatever this ghost boy wanted in the library had to be easily findable without disturbing them.

"You aren't searching for some like demonic relic that I'm gonna have to dig up, are you? Because that I'm pretty sure I can't do. I'd like to keep my job."

The ghost boy just looked at Naruto quietly and Naruto threw his arms up in the air in frustration, giving up and walking over to unlock it. Whatever, there was no point in asking that kid anything, it wasn't like he could speak an answer any way.

Naruto stood in the middle of the library, looking at all the bookshelves before him, then grinned as he headed for the most obvious section in existence: ghosts. To be more precise, it was the horror isle, right next to New Age and a shelf away from Science Fiction. It was a small section, but he knew from exploring on his own time that there was an even smaller section contained within that told local ghost stories. Old books, bound in cardboard and canvas with numbers worn off the sides told him how often the section had been touched and he just hoped that what he needed hadn't been checked out or lost.

"So kid, which book is it?" Naruto turned back to regard the ghost boy, only to find him turned in the other direction, staring off into space. The boy wasn't moving and the air around them was completely silent. Naruto frowned and stepped toward the boy, then the air around him seemed to pop, and the boy disappeared.

"Damnit kid no! You need to come back because I am NOT dealing with your freaky big brother!"

Naruto's voice echoed around the library, filling the silence for a moment before dying away, and something about that just made him even more angry. He didn't want to deal with any of this! He wanted Sasuke! He wanted to be at home, with the money from the job and just out of all of it! He wanted-

"Hello?"

Naruto jumped as a flashlight hit him and a person was suddenly standing across from him. It was obviously one of the night librarians following the sound of Naruto's upset yell and he knew how to explain this well enough.

But his voice died in his throat when he saw the boy's name tag.

It said 'Gaara'.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Lost Hatred  
Fandom: Naruto  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: SasuNaru  
Warnings: Horror, as usual and Alternate Universe. The rest is up to my muses 

Now Naruto was sure he'd seen a ghost.

The boy in front of him was a little shorter then himself, wearing the standard black polo shirt and khaki pants that the library preferred all its employees wore. His name tag was a little crooked and the shirt wasn't tucked in, while his glasses were slightly smudged from late night reading and all around being bored. After all there really wasn't much to do in the library after it closed but rearrange and read.

Green eyes matched the little boy's perfectly and of all things, the boy had a locket hanging around his neck, worn from age and use. The locket seemed to just fit him, really and Naruto couldn't help but wonder who was in it.

But back to the matter at hand, there was just no way to describe how creepy it was to see this boy and that ghost… they just had to be related! The fact that they shared the same name just made it even worse.

"Umm, hey."

Gaara frowned at Naruto. "The library is closed, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Right um, standard procedure, I get that. Problem is I work here too, that's how I got in. And well, other problem is this is kinda important. I really, really, really need to figure out what's going on. So if ya could let me look around I'm sure I'll find something…"

"It's 4 in the morning." The boy was obviously not convinced. What's worse he was definitely not the morning person type. Naruto frowned, trying to think of some way to explain that he was sick to death of being haunted and he certainly didn't want it to go on any longer, but at the same time he didn't want to sound completely crazy.

"I know it is, but seriously this is an emergency. Please just let me-"

Naruto's voice dropped away as the little ghost boy appeared next to Gaara, looking up at the red haired boy. And suddenly, all of it just seemed to make sense. Well, most of it actually. There was just one issue that didn't fit.

"Did you used to live at the large house? You know, the one by the lake at the end of fifth street?"

Gaara blinked, his frown fading. "How did you…?"

"And this is gonna sound really weird, but your mom…. She was gonna have another kid and then she got killed right? Am I right?"

"Who are you? How do you know any of this?" Gaara was obviously mad now and he was stepping toward Naruto, ready to demand an answer out of him. But rather then let him get that far, Naruto just pointed at the ghost boy next to him and watched as Gaara turned and looked… at the younger version of himself.

As soon as their eyes met, a light giggle filled the room again, melting into a low, angry moan. Naruto groaned loudly while Gaara looked around, confused. "What… was that?"

"Oh, just that little kid's big brother. He's all freaky and so not safe. We should probably leave now." Naruto's voice cracked with nervousness as he looked around them. Suddenly the library felt small and cramped and he was painfully aware of the fact that the two closest exits were on the other side of the building thanks to maintence being forced to close the door on this side. It just rubbed in how deadly and dangerous fire hazards could be in cases where there wasn't a fire.

The giggle sounded again and both boys turned to see the little ghost boy was now standing in front of them, blocking them from the lobby. This time his eyes were locked on Gaara and Naruto watched the two just stare at each other. He could see panic in the other boy's eyes and disbelief. Then the ghost boy screamed again.

"MOMMY!!"

"Stop it!" Gaara's hands flew to cover his ears and he staggered back, knocking into a bookshelf. The old wood shook behind him and books started falling, landing on the ground with loud, dusty thumps that only added to the scene. Naruto looked between the two, then just gave a groan of annoyance.

"Well, fuck this." He grabbed Gaara's hand and jerked him away from the shelf, running right through the ghost boy and headed for the closest exit. This was insane. This was just crazy and he wasn't willing to deal with it anymore. No more ghosts, no more creepy visions and no more screaming 'Mommy' to the point that it felt like his own brain would explode. This was enough!

The two bolted for the door, Gaara stumbling along behind him. Unfortuantely the screaming continued around them and they didn't make it far. Another sound filled the air and Naruto was suddenly knocked harshly to the ground, his head hitting the floor hard enough for his vision to go out like a light before slowly fading back. The air around him grew thick and for a moment he couldn't breathe.

"Gaara."

The name was whispered in the air as Naruto rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to sit up. When he was finally able to focus on everything, he really started to wish he couldn't. He found himself, and Gaara, standing in the lobby of the library. All the doors around them slammed closed at the same time, the sound ringing in the air. Sand started to fill the room, seeping under the doors and gathering before them to create a shape. A creature made of sand with its mouth twisted into jagged edges and eyes slitted in a look of pure anger and hatred. Behind them the ghost boy appeared, effectly surrounding both of them, though both creatures couldn't seem to stop staring at Gaara.

"Damnit, shit… move!" Naruto scrambled to his feet to try for the exit again, only to have the mass of sand shove him back to the floor harshly as it grew in front of Gaara, stretching out in front of him to look like some strange hybrid of something that looked just as twisted as the ghost boy's face.

Gaara didn't respond to what Naruto said, just watching the mass of sand between him and door, a look of complete fear on his face. Then the mouth started moving, but there was no voice… instead Gaara was speaking.

"I'll kill him… I'll kill him for what he did."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Your father killed your mother… for getting pregnant."

Gaara turned his head, glaring at Naruto and both of the ghosts turned to face him too. But then Gaara's eyes faded back to normal and he looked away, resisting whatever they were doing to him. The same scream filled the room, covering the air with its sound and just soaking through Naruto's ears and his hands which were covering them.

"MOMMY!!"

The little boy screamed with him, his voice so high pitched that it felt like it could shatter glass and bone. Meanwhile the sand monster in front of him burst apart, swirling in the air around Gaara, leaving Sasuke to crumble to the ground unconscious. It had been around Sasuke… it had taken Sasuke… Sasuke hadn't left!

Naruto didn't have time to be happy or overjoyed about that revelation as the world around him seemed to explode in screams and sounds. Then the ghost like things faded away and the remaining two boys crumbled to the ground. Naruto landed on the cold floor, his entire body shutting down from exhaustion.

Was it over?

Could he sleep now?

Apparently so, because his eyes closed and the world just faded away.

(later)

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke shook his head, leaned forward and ignored him, his eyes intent on the screen as he started moving again. The character ran down the slope, he pressed all the right buttons and ran right into the boss. One short cut scene skipped and Sasuke started right into the knife fight, clutching the controller tight enough to make his knuckles white as he tried to beat the part for the umpteenth time.

And for the fifteenth time in a row, the same combo knocked his character back on his ass into the lava pits below. The words "You DIED" appeared on the screen in blood as Sasuke swore and resisted throwing down the controller.

"Lemme try!"

"No, Naruto!"

Naruto frowns at Sasuke, then pounces and grabs the cord to the controller. Sasuke looks completely surprised at the move and isn't able to hold onto the controller, which of course ends up in Naruto's hands. He grins happily and presses the 'start' button, ready to try the fight and beat it and then laugh in Sasuke's face because he mastered a hard level boss fight-

Naruto blinked as the words "You DIED" appeared on the screen again. But… no, he'd pressed the correct buttons. He'd done all the right things… and his character had died in two seconds.

"This game's broken!" He tossed the controller to the floor.

"It's not broken, you just lost."

"It's broken!" Naruto refused to believe anything else. That had to be the reason why it didn't work. It was broken and that was just that. Period. He should have won that game, he could have won that game. Damnit why couldn't he ever show up Sasuke on anything?

"Gaara, you want to try?" Sasuke glanced over at the red haired boy as he stepped in the room. Gaara shook his head and dropped on the couch, opening a can of pop.

"Naw, never really been into video games."

Naruto couldn't help but smirk. "You're a book person, aren't you?" He said in a teasing voice.

"Hey, you work there too." Gaara's dry and unamused tone made all of them chuckle a bit and Naruto just kept pushing the controller into Gaara's hands before Gaara finally relented. Then Naruto got to watch his boyfriend spend the next ten minutes trying to explain to Gaara how to play the game… and the smile slowly hint at Gaara's lips.

The ghosts hadn't shown up since that day, and Naruto was quite happy to leave things as they were, especially now that he had his nice fat paycheck from the house. He'd stopped house-sitting for a while, he just didn't feel up to it. Besides, him and Sasuke were busy now, playing the new games he'd used the money to buy. Not to mention showing their new friend how to become a video game dork as well.

The End.


End file.
